


An Odd Tale

by ViziDoodle



Category: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Good Chara (Undertale), Narrator Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Chara & Frisk (Undertale), Nonbinary Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Takes place in MPHFPC’s world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24079765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViziDoodle/pseuds/ViziDoodle
Summary: Frisk climbs out from the world underneath Mt. Ebott and falls into a new one, one that may not be so different from their own.
Relationships: Emma Bloom/Jacob Portman, Hugh Apiston/Fiona Frauenfeld
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome! Please note there are spoilers for Undertale’s Neutral Run, and the MPHFPC books.

Monsters. Humans. Sometimes the line between the two is gray and fuzzy, sometimes they may as well be each other. But as far as the wild-haired child on the peak of Mount Ebott was concerned, their adventure with Monsterkind was over. The Barrier shimmering behind them was proof enough of that.

And as much as they wanted to despise their death-filled adventure (all except one of the deaths being theirs), they couldn't help but miss their journey, from Sans' puns, to Alphys' rants about Mew Mew 2, and everything in between. But if they went back, would Flowey try to kill them again? Frisk shivered, remembering the nightmare that was Omega Flowey's crazed and murderous laughter as he launched wave after wave of who-knows-what.

"We should probably get going." There was the voice of a child, but no one was there.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the Sun, Chara. Can we just wait a little longer?" The ghost materialized in front of them, sighing.

"Frisk, the Sun is overrated." Frisk blinked, looking at the specter in front of them.

They (both children shared gender-neutral pronouns) were taller than Frisk, but almost everyone was. They had jagged brown hair that framed their crimson red eyes and their pronounced rosy blush. They were wearing a knitted green-and-yellow sweater with long brown jeans covered in old pollen. After taking in the appearance of Chara for the umpteenth time, they frowned.

They then turned to face the sunset again, but after a few minutes they decided to descend from the mountain, towards a beach. They were actually facing the wrong way, having squeezed through a small hole that had caught their dark brown eye. And so they trudged downwards, diagonally away from their hometown and towards a very lengthy beach.

It was a few hours later when night had fallen, and Frisk was getting tired. They hadn't slept properly since they were in the Ruins. Ruins... Frisk laid down on the sand, memories of their venture through the purple catacombs dancing through their head. They could almost smell the wafting scent of pie, see the warm glow of lamps, and sense the feeling of being home. Home...

"Welcome home, my child," spoke the motherly goat creature, "Come, I have a surprise for you." The fluffy Boss Monster led Frisk to the first door in the hallway, and said, "Ta-da! It is your very own room!"

There was an awkward pause, and Toriel began to sniff worriedly.

"I-Is something burning?" She said, hurriedly going to the source of the smell, leaving Frisk to explore their new room. As they opened the orange door, a buttercup appeared.

"Frisk! Hey Frisk!" The creature, decidedly Flowey, said. Strangely enough, it had the voice of a certain ghost...

"Frisk! Wake up, partner!" Chara said, attempting to shake the shorter of the two awake. It was barely dawn, and Frisk groggily pried open an eye.

"Chara, it's still really early, let me slee-" Chara shook them again, with more vigor this time.

"Frisk, I think I heard a wolf growling." They explained, but Frisk merely shook their head.

"It was probably just me being hungry. It's been a long time since I ate." Chara frowned at this, pointing to a line of tracks in the sand across the beach, tracks that were not from a person. "But there's clawprints over there." Frisk ignored the ghostly guide, trying to fall back asleep. Chara decided to follow the trail of tracks, ending at a large rock.

"Huh. They just end here." They observed, and then a wave of dread crashed over them, raising long-dead hairs on a long-dead neck. At this point, they speed hovered over to Frisk.

"Frisk, we have to go. NOW." But the young brunette just shook their head. So Chara shook them with the force of a wild poltergeist and stared directly at them.

"Chara, not funny."

They looked at Chara, and saw their dread-filled face. The self-proclaimed 'guide' hadn't been this tense since Undyne was about to appear, or when Sans first approached.

And then it hit Frisk, like Asgore's trident shattering the MERCY button. They too felt the sinking feeling of their gut tying itself in a worried knot. Their worries were confirmed when their SOUL, a bright red cartoon-ish heart, was tugged out of their chest. And so they ran. Soon after, a bloodcurdling roar broke the water's ambience, and Frisk kicked it into high gear while simultaneously trying-and failing-to put their SOUL away. The last thing they needed was some Joe or Jane walking in on a child holding a floating heart while frantically sprinting away from nothing. And speaking of nothing, the creature was wildly running after Frisk, kicking up sand, water, and eventually dirt as they entered some kind of forest.

Frisk was quickly reaching their physical limit, and there was only so much "KEEP GOING, FRISK! I THINK IT'S GAINING ON US!" could do.

"Can't...must...breathe..." The ghostly partner waved their arms.

"Frisk, we can't wait! That...that-thing is going to KILL you!" Chara was right, the creature was nearing them, as evidenced by Frisk's SOUL flashing. The 'murder thing'-as Chara had named it-was only a sprint away. But Frisk could go no further by themself. Chara frowned, then had an idea. "I'm not giving up on escaping, and neither are you!" The long-dead child felt a surge of warmth and being as they took over their partner's body.

With all the Determination Frisk's tired, fleshy body could muster, Chara set off. Faster then they had stormed up Mt. Ebott so long ago, faster than Frisk had dashed away from the danger of Undyne's spears. Frisk was still only a child possessed by another child, though, and Chara could feel the sense of being alive again slowly slip away.

'No,' they thought to themself, 'Concentrate on the movement of Frisk's legs, and our goal of not dying at the claws of an invisible thing.' And they tried their best to keep going, but it was all becoming fuzzy and blurred.

From very far away, they could hear voices. Someone yelling in shock, a swarm of bees, and then darkness. Pure, lonely darkness.


	2. The Children Arrive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk meets Miss Peregrine’s charges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, spoilers for Undertale’s Neutral Ending and the MPHFPC books. Sit back and enjoy!

Jacob, Millard, and Hugh had all decided to go outside rather early today because they felt like they needed the fresh air. It was about 6 AM or so, and they were all having a nice time in general-chasing each other, teasing about each other's crushes. Suddenly, an earthshaking, nerve-wracking roar was bellowed, and they all paused.

"Did I just hear what I think I heard?" Jacob asked, looking at the other two and then to the forest surrounding their home's yard. No-one replied because the question was mostly rhetorical. The roar was very close to the home, and none of the three boys were prepared for such a thing to happen.

"Do you think we should get everyone else? Or at least something to kill the Hollow?" Hugh asked, not noticing Millard's the invisible nod as he was already halfway to the house. And then another loud screaming noise rang out, but this time it was more childlike and less earthshaking.

"WHY IS THAT THING STILL HERE?!" the voice cried in alarm, "I THOUGHT WE LOST IT A LONG TIME AGO!" There was another roar, followed by a long period of silence.

As Jacob and Hugh began to think up all the bad scenarios that could be happening, a short, tan child limped into the field, muttering something about frisking. Their legs moved haphazardly as they pulled themselves along, stumbling as though it was the first time they had walked in years. They had several leaves stuck in their wild chocolate-brown hair and looked like they had just climbed out of some bloody mud puddle. And to put the cherry on top of the ever-so-confusing cake, they were clutching a bright-red heart that looked like it had come straight from a Valentine's Day card.

The Hollow was there as well, the candles on the confusion-filled cake. It effortlessly bounded towards the now crawling child, with the intent to eat. Jacob considered his options as quickly as he could. 'I don't even know this kid, they could be a Wight, for all I know.'

Hugh, however, acted very quickly and launched a swarm of angry bees onto the Hollow. 'The child may be evil, but the Hollow is still a Hollow.' He said to himself mentally as his bees mercilessly attacked the soulless creature. This only aggravated it more, evidenced by the way it launched itself towards the unmoving child on the ground. Hugh's bees did their worst, and the Valentine's Day heart proceeded to do a full 180, pointing towards the Hollow as it gained a faint yellow glow.

_Ping!_

The glow formed a gravity-defying droplet and launched it at the Hollow. It lost its footing for a second, startled by the shot.

_Ping!_

Another shot hit the Hollow in the nightmare-inducing chin. This went on for a while, until eventually the Hollow smacked the yellow droplet-bullets away like they were flies, and grabbed the child (who still seemed to be unconscious) with its tongues. The small backpack previously on their shoulders fell onto the ground, spilling out crumbs and various clothes. The child was moments away from death and the Valentine's heart moved erratically as if it somehow understood the dire situation it was in. The Hollow craned its neck directly upwards, hoisting the child high into the air.

Even with all the bees swarming it furiously, it was about to devour this child. The air went frigid, an unexplained blast of cold accumulating somewhere near the Hollow's side. It seemed even the air was tense about this child's horrid fate.

And then, a miraculous coincidence occurred. A crossbow bolt impaled the Hollow's neck, killing it instantaneously as Jacob turned to see a floating set of clothing brandishing a crossbow. Hugh's bees retreated back into his stomach, and the child fell to the ground due to the Hollow going limp. They hit the ground, face-down and the red heart disappeared with a pop. Jacob looked at the child, then to the backpack near his feet, then to Millard again. And behind him was all the other older children.

"Millard! That was extremely convenient timing!" Hugh said, as Jacob looked at the child once more, trying to figure out their gender (to little avail). He picked up the backpack instead and a rectangular steak-covered mostly in tinfoil-fell out.

"I don't even want to know, do I?" Jacob said to himself, rummaging through the backpack some more as he walked with the other peculiars. He found a frying pan and a golden heart-shaped locket engraved with 'Best Friends Forever' at the top of the bag.

"What are we going to do with the child?" Emma asked, looking at the locket curiously.

"I just want to know what's up with that shiny red heart they were carrying," Hugh replied simply. They all chatted about it amongst themselves until they got to the house.

Bronwyn was carrying the child and simply said to her headmistress, "Miss Peregrine, we found someone."


	3. An Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk wakes up and meets some quite interesting people.

Softness, like the first bed of buttercups. And Frisk's head had a horrid pounding as if they had landed on the flowerbed wrong. The child tried to focus and saw a fuzzy set of letters and numbers appear.

**CHARA LV 1 5/20 HP**

They smiled despite the painful haze, knowing they weren't quite dead yet. But if they weren't dead, that meant they also weren't on the bed of flowers. Unsure about their whereabouts, they opened their eyes to see a wall, and another, and...a floating set of clothing? Frisk curiously reached out to the brown fabric, and the hat turned towards them. A bit embarrassed by what was probably a glare or a weird look, they retracted their arm and set it on their bruised forehead. Looking up, they saw a transparent 10-year-old floating above them.

"You're awake! Um, sorry about possessing you back there. I, you know, panicked." They gave a forced laugh and did a full spin.

"There's lots of other people here. And they seem okay, for people."

The sudden bitterness and contempt of those last words nearly froze the air. There was a moment of silence, and Chara broke it by adding,

"Maybe you should say hello, You seem like the friendly type, and you probably like people more than I do."

Frisk attempted to give a nod, but their head still pounded fiercely, so they just gave a thumbs up with their free hand. Chara gave a simple smile in response, dissipating into the air.

"H-hello," Frisk managed to croak, hoping the people were friendly as well.

"Hello! I heard you shot the Hollow with an upside-down heart! Is that really true?" said a little girl with curly blond hair, suddenly blocking most of their view.

"Hollow?" They responded, confused.

"Blah blah blah blah, blah," said the little girl, but not really. Frisk was just zoning out while staring at the ceiling.

"I told you she was awake, Miss Peregrine," said an older blond girl, who had happened to walk in with an old lady.

"She? I was sure that _he_ was a _he_ ," said the floating clothes. The little girl moved away to reveal more of the room, which included Chara holding up a record next to an old record player.

"Look at this record player! It has a neat crank and everything!" they said, placing the record down. "This is going to be really cool."

Frisk showed their tongue in defiance, but it was too late. Run Rabbit Run started playing at full blast. A few of the people covered their ears, and some of them looked to the floating clothes set.

"Millard!" The older blond girl said, and the clothes turned.

"What? I have been here the whole time," they responded in the voice of a teenage boy. Meanwhile, the old lady was walking over to the record player, turning it off.

"There will be no more of that," she said, and to that Chara frowned.

"Alright, Miss Un-Fun."

They floated over to Frisk and continued to speak.

"Anyways, it seems our guest is awake. Who might your name be?" the old lady asked, looking at Frisk.

It had just then occurred to them that they had never said their name through the whole journey, only to Chara.

"Frisk."


	4. These People are Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk gets a little bit of explanation

"So your name is Frisk, how delightful," said the old lady, with not the slightest hint of sarcasm or disgust.

'I hope you'll apologize for calling her Miss Un-Fun now, Chara,' the stocky little 8-year-old thought, holding out a hand.

"I suppose we should all introduce ourselves. I am Miss Peregrine, and I am-" Frisk cut her off, blurting out, "The Keeper of some Ruins?"

"No, no, I am the headmistress of this home, and in addition, I am also an ymbryne."

Meanwhile, Chara did a barrel roll in the air.

"Get a load of that word, Frisk. I bet it's really hard to spell. I-m-b-r-i-e-n, I think," The ghost rattled off as Frisk tried their best to pay attention to the woman named after a bird.

"What's that?" The non-dead of the two simply asked, confused by the spelling, and the pronunciation and Chara's blabbing. They flopped back onto the couch, looking directly up at their fellow pactee.

"Well, it's a type of yakkity yak that can yadda yadda, and in addition, we can also blah blah."

This, of course, was not what Miss Peregrine had said, but the ache in Frisk's head kept them from taking in most, if any, of the sentence.

'I could say that my head hurts,' Frisk thought, 'but I've been through worse.'

"With that set aside, what is your peculiarity, Frisk?" Miss Peregrine asked, and Frisk paused.

"Peculiarity?" They repeated, utterly lost.

"Yes, it's a strange ability that everyone here possesses. If you weren't peculiar, then there would be no way you could have come here," the headmistress of the house explained.

"So you have a ban on non-weird people?" Frisk blurted suddenly, then covered their mouth.

"Peculiar is a synonym for unusual or weird, but to us, it has a whole different meaning. I, as I have previously explained, can turn into a bird and make loops."

Frisk nodded as if they understood (which they didn't), and thought for a few seconds.

"So if I'm like you, then can I turn into a bird, too? Or does everybody do different things?" The newest hope of Monsterkind asked.

"Well, none of my wards have had the same peculiarity so far, but there could be a chance that you share a similar one to theirs."

Frisk looked around, and Chara floated leisurely.

"You know, I've never really seen you do anything weird before, besides taking more candy than you were supposed to," Chara commented, looking the headache bearing child over.

"You certainly don't seem weird, either."

Frisk ignored this and rubbed their head, trying to find anything that indicated they possessed a power others did not.

"Determination!" The young gender-neutral child suddenly exclaimed, throwing a hand into the air.

"And what does this 'determination' peculiarity entail?" Miss Peregrine asked, and Frisk waved a hand, making the floating red heart appear once more.

"Soul," Frisk said, and it was true. They hoped these new people would understand, just at least a little bit, what they were talking about.

"How interesting, you can summon your soul at will. Which one is that?" Miss Peregrine said and then asked.

Frisk was obviously confused by this, as it as it was the only SOUL they had. Chara's SOUL was just...apart of Chara, who was kind of apart of Frisk. And Chara was just starting to creep over to the old record player again, with the most mischievous look on their ghostly face.

"Which?" Frisk repeated, still very baffled.

"Yes, Peculiars have two souls, one normal and one peculiar. It is the combination of the two that allowed you to enter this loop," the bird-transforming headmistress said, and Chara turned to face their younger counterpart.

"Two SOULS, huh?" They grinned slyly, putting both hands in the air. They clapped three times, spun around once, and then bellowed, "Neenoy...Hoy...NEENEHOY!" in a progressively louder tone. A second red heart materialized in their geistly palm, but it was much different than Frisk's. It was very faded, even gray and black in some areas, and was in a multitude of pieces, all floating together.

"Two," Frisk said, pointing to the SOUL across the room, watching the gray and light red gain bits back and forth, like a tide of their partner's ever-so-slightly questionable morals. Miss Peregrine looked at the gray and light red fragments, noticing they mostly all kept together in the general shape of a heart.

She decided not to pry, seeing as the child was in such a pained and battered state already.

"Frisk, you can rest some more if you'd like," the talented ymbryne spoke in a soft, comforting voice.

The child grinned a toothy grin, and they 'made' their second SOUL disappear. It was really all Chara's work, considering it was their SOUL.

Frisk drifted into a sleep filled with Asgore wishing for them to stay determined. As inspirational quotes trailed off, the 8th child to fall into the Underground felt at peace with the world.


	5. The Second Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk wakes up (again).

The wild-haired child woke up in a soft bed, staring up at a ceiling printed with daisies. It was a comforting sight to behold, and the soft blanket that was draped over their torso (and the cool washcloth on their brow) only made it better. "Chara?" They asked, glancing around the room for a sign of the mischief-loving pun enthusiast.

"Oh, you're up." A transparent sleeve fell through the ceiling, followed by a green-and-yellow striped sweater. "Did you SAVE yet?" Frisk shook their head, and replied,

"I didn't find a place to SAVE yet. Plus I don't think these people would get it." The disembodied voice blew a raspberry.

"Oh, Come on, Frisk. One of the people here has a beehive in his stomach, and the lady who runs this place can turn into a bird." Frisk's face reddened, and they quickly sputtered,

"B-but I bet none of them would get SAVEs or RESETs or even what Determination actually does.." Chara materialized directly in front of their injured partner.

"I guess it's mutual since you didn't even bother to listen when the caretaker lady told you about being an i-m-b-r-i-e-n-e. " The shorter, younger child sighed in frustration.

"I had a headache..." Chara rolled their eyes and motioned to a glowing yellow four-point star on the nearest dresser in the room.

"If you want to SAVE, just do it. I'm sure they'll believe you if you tell them Determination also lets you heal yourself." The SAVE point was out of reach, yet Frisk still waved their hand at it.

"Frisk, I can't move it. I can't. It's unmovable." The ghostly narrator tried to pry the star away for an example, and as they had said, it did not budge. Frisk kept holding their hand out in its direction nonetheless. At that moment, Miss Peregrine gently opened the door to the newest arrival waving their hand at a small golden-colored star that was on the dresser.

"Frisk?" The celebrated, prodigal ymbryne asked, still standing in the door, "I'm coming into the room now." Her voice was as soft as the blankets, perfectly matching with the atmosphere of the room. Frisk gave a weak smile and a quiet greeting.

"Hi." The young hope of Monsterkind said, continuing to make futile grabs for the SAVE point. Miss Peregrine drew her gaze to it, watching it dim and glow as if it was a very intriguing nightlamp. Forgetting that their new headmistress was there for a second, Frisk made their SOUL appear and willed it to move over to the SAVE point, and the two glowed as if they always were meant to be together.

"The comforting nature of the room before you fills you with Determination," Chara spoke, halfway through the wooden floor. "Game saved. HP restored." At that, a ribbon of yellow light swirled around Frisk's SOUL, and all of the young child's wounds were gone. The SAVE point disappeared, and Chara was still halfway through the floor. Miss Peregrine was still there and was a bit taken aback by this show of lights and healing. Unfortunately, the SAVE point's job was not to make people squeaky clean, so the formerly injured child's overalls and shirt were still covered with dried blood, dirt, though the pollen was noticeably gone.

"You will never cease to surprise me, will you?" Miss Peregrine said, and Frisk shook their head with a toothy grin. With a wave of their small hand, the red heart was gone again. Chara was smiling, too, glad to see their partner up and at 'em again.

"I like her. She reminds me of Mom, er, Toriel." The overall-and-random-fabric-square-wearing child nodded, and said,

"Yeah, for me too." They both suddenly paused noticing Frisk's mistake. 'Oh no, I just talked to Chara in front of the ymbryne lady!' The younger of the two thought worriedly.

"There is, in fact, a surprise I haven't told you about yet, young Frisk," said Miss Peregrine, noticing that the comment was not directed at her, but decided it would be best if she told them about loops now.

"There is?" The stocky child of Determination asked, and the time-manipulating headmistress nodded and said,

"Yes, and it's called a loop." She told the child before her about the world of the peculiars: ymbrynes like herself, who had the power to shapeshift into birds and make one day that repeats forever, the Hollowgast, which was the creature that had tried to kill Frisk a while back, and finally the wights, who seemed a bit too similar to a certain talking flower for comfort. Frisk was enthralled with the stories of this world they had stumbled across, letting every word Miss Peregrine spoke sink into their brain.

"Now then," the raven-haired caretaker said, "I think it's time for you to finally meet the rest of my wards."


	6. An Everything Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Chara meet the peculiar children.

Frisk thought it was a good idea as well, but unfortunately, they were a mess. Sure, the pollen had drifted off of them, the leaves in their hair were gone, and they were no longer wounded, but their overalls were still stained with dirt and blood.

"How about we get you all cleaned up?" Miss Peregrine offered, and Frisk decided to take the ymbryne up on it. Soon enough, the young child had what was arguably one of the best baths of their whole life. At this point, Miss Peregrine knew Frisk's birth gender for certain and offered them a variety of clothing choices to go with it. Now Frisk hadn't told Miss Peregrine about being gender-neutral yet, so they chose a simple yellow-and-brown shirt and some brown ankle-length pants in honor of Monster Kid. Their formerly knotted hair was now tamed, wavy even.

"Now then, Frisk, shall we go downstairs and meet the others?" The child gave a nod, and followed the raven-haired lady down the stairs and outside, where there were several children playing.

"Children, this is Frisk, and-" Frisk tugged on her sleeve worriedly, as if there was something they needed to say first.

"Yes?" She looked down, probably expecting 'I'm too nervous..' or 'I don't trust these people.' Instead, she got a quiet, whispery,

"I-I'm a they.." At this point Miss Peregrine was whispering as well because it was rude to be loud when people were whispering like Frisk was.

"A they? You could have just told me this before." The yellow-clad child, this they, was a little embarrassed by what was most likely the truth.

"I thought you wouldn't get it...Lots of adults tell me, 'You can only be a boy or a girl. There is no such thing as a they.' " Chara wordlessly agreed in the background. They had been mocked and constantly shunned as a child for just the same thing.

"Now, Frisk, I've only just met you, but I'd never shun you away for not fitting the mold that others set. Each child here is different in their own way, and that's not bad. Take, for instance, Claire." She motioned to the small girl with curly, golden hair.

"She has a mouth in the back of her head but I love her just the same as everyone else here." Frisk smiled in a heartfelt way. Miss P cleared her throat and began the introduction again.

"Children, this is Frisk. They are my newest ward and the newest child here. For your own sake, I hope you treat them with respect. Now, we should all introduce ourselves as well." A floating set of clothing stepped up first.

"I'm Millard, and I'm invisible." He slowly spun around in place. The introductions went on, and in all, there was a fancy-clothed boy who had prophetic dreams, a boy who had a beehive in his stomach, 'a brooding teenage romance novel protagonist' (as Chara described him) who brought dolls to life with vital organs, a boy wearing a sweater that looked more recent, as if it was bought last Tuesday, a girl who had fire magic, a girl as strong as Undyne, a little girl who could float, a girl who could manipulate plants, of course, Claire.

"Nice to meet you, Horace, Hugh, Enoch, Jacob, Emma, Bronwyn, Olive, Fiona, and also Claire," Frisk said, after taking a very deep breath. After that, Frisk decided to hunt some bugs in the garden.

"Ah, a fine specimen of Sinodendron cylindricum," said Millard, looking at the beetle. Frisk stared at it, confused at the long word Millard had just used.

"You mean this nose-spike bug?" Millard laughed.

"Is that what you call a rhinoceros beetle?"

"Yeah, but..."

"But you never knew what it was really called?" The miraculous Invisible Boy inquired. Frisk nodded as the beetle climbed up their arm. So, for most of their time outside, Frisk looked for bugs while Millard named them, gave facts, etcetera etcetera. Chara watched and occasionally messed with the other boys' game of football, ever so slightly moving the ball around so that, at the moment of the kick, a person would miss and embarrass their partner. Frisk eventually caught the attention of Claire, who insisted that they introduce themselves to her dolls and stuffed animals.

"And this is Foxpin," she finally said, holding up a small doll of a fox wearing a hat and little gloves.

"I like your friends," said Frisk, nodding appreciatively, "It was really nice to have me say hi to them." They all began a little tea party, laughing and eating imaginary cake until Miss Peregrine finally called them inside for lunch.

"You know what, I think you're just an everything person. You know, like a people person but you get along with Monsters and 'peculiar' people, too." Chara said, smirking.

"Aww...Thank you.." Frisk quietly replied, walking inside, to start the next part of their day.

And that's the seventh chapter! The next chapter will include lunch and some possible disagreements, so watch out for salt! ;)


	7. Salty Times are Around the Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Chara have fun with their new friends, and there’s also salt

Everyone sat together at the table (except for Hugh, because of his bees), and Frisk could hardly wait to eat as they stared at their food dishes. The cooking skills of the 'Bird'-as the other children called her-did not matter as long as there was food on their plate. Miss Peregrine finally walked into the dining room and took a seat.

"Children," she announced, "You may eat now." The shiny metal covers were removed and Frisk couldn't help but gawk. This lady had absolutely exceeded their expectations of her cooking skills; in fact, it was the best-looking meal they had ever set their eyes upon.

"Wow..." They quietly said, and Emma whispered something about loops and RESETs.

"Are you going to start building a shrine to the food or are you actually going to eat it," cracked Chara.

Frisk rubbed their eyes and blinked twice, just to make sure this wasn't a dream, and started placing all sorts of things on their plate. Apparently Miss Peregrine was also good at making food taste good, something relatively new to them as well.

"Pass the salt, please?" They asked after swallowing a bite of fresh, crisp vegetables. Olive handed over the salt shaker, and as Frisk held it up, it slipped out of their hand while somehow also taking off the lid, pouring salt all over their plate.

"I ought to charge you for a-salt-ting your food, partner." Chara joked, staring at the small mound of sodium chloride that rested on their plate.

"Frisk, are you okay?" asked Olive, as Frisk stared at the most likely ruined food. She was half expecting Frisk to start throwing a fit, but they simply shrugged and ate a bite of food, salt and all.

"Do you want some of mine?" The young child asked, upon seeing the confused face of Olive. They looked around at the slightly baffled others, and said,

"You can have some of my salt if you want." Miss Peregrine held up a hand.

"Frisk, I think that's quite enough about salt for now." That was the end of that, and everyone ate their food without another mention of the spilled salt.

Now that lunch was over, everyone went to do their separate things, and Frisk decided to follow Enoch.

"Watch this," said the 13-something-year-old boy, who in reality was actually much more than 3 years older than Frisk. He was holding a small clay doll (he called it a 'homunculus') fitted with a fork and a tiny, still-bloody heart. He opened the chest of the figure and placed the heart inside, then closed the cavity. For a moment nothing happened, then it began to move about.

"Hello!" Frisk greeted, as Enoch picked the thing up and placed it with a similar group of homunculi.

"Now, you fight," Enoch commanded to the figurines, and they began a harsh battle, stabbing each other with silverware, tackling and jumping. In the end, most of them were reduced to heaps of lifeless clay. The whole time, Frisk was slightly horrified.

"Are they all dead?" They asked, gently lifting up a malformed clump skewered by a very sharp toothpick. Enoch nodded, and replied,

"Of course they're dead. What's the point of a homunculus battle if nobody dies in it?" Frisk frowned solemnly.

"But what if nobody has to die?" They asked, to which Enoch bluntly replied,

"What's the fun in that? A battle, but nobody dies?" He rolled his eyes and sighed. Frisk shook their head and stepped out of Enoch's makeshift laboratory hoping to find a less saddening past-time. As they hopped down the stairs, they saw everyone except Jacob scuttling around.

"What's going on?" Frisk questioned as they took a seat with Miss Peregrine's second newest ward.

"They told me they were getting ready for a show." The young man said, his eyes flickering between Frisk and the hurried peculiars around him. The reply caused Frisk to think of Mettaton's ratings-fueled antics and they smiled.

"Sounds cool!" The both of them sat in silence as everyone hobbled outside. Eventually, Millard finally strode forward in what looked to be a sideshow barker's clothes.

"Jacob and gentlethem!" He announced, and Frisk giggled, "Come outside for the astounding spectacle that is Miss Peregrine and her fantastical Peculiar Children!"

Frisk giggled again and tottered to the door, very eager to see the spectacle that Millard was raving about. Jacob followed both outside where a wooden stage stood.

"Now may I present the amazing Madame Bird!" The invisible barker cried as he pulled out Miss Peregrine (in bird form), perched on his arm.

"Now, I shall use my magic to transform her into a human woman!" He placed her on a box, draping a curtain in front of her. There was a moment of suspenseful silence, and all of the audience leaned forward in their seats despite already knowing the outcome. There was a ruffling of feathers followed by wings flapping, and lo and behold-Miss Peregrine's face! Everyone broke into boisterous applause, loving the performance. Miss Peregrine's hair was less prim than usual, and she already had the curtain wrapped around herself. She said something about a 'halcyon day', and then swiftly maneuvered towards the house.

The next one to perform was Millard, who juggled a bunch of bottles whilst completely naked, making it seem like they were flying through the air in circles. Frisk, of course, clapped enthusiastically. Olive spun and twirled on a set of parallel bars, disregarding gravity. Then there was Emma, who swallowed fire followed by Bronwyn lifting up a boulder in a way that the yellow-and-brown-sweater donning child was sure only her and Undyne could manage, and it all ended with a musical feat brimming with flowers and bees. Frisk's little hands hurt but they did not care. They had loved the whole thing, through and through.

"Wasn't that amazing, Jacob?" They asked, as they lay in the grass, watching clouds slowly roll about. The teen-aged boy nodded, and his eyes moved over to Emma, who had managed to get the older children pepped for swimming.

"Swimming? I love swimming!" Frisk cried, wanting to go along. "I want to swim! I want to swim with you!" Emma sighed and said yes, and Frisk happily dashed towards the house, bursting with glee.


	8. A Swimmingly Fun Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk, Chara, and the other children have fun swimming

Frisk stood in front of the Headmistress.

"Would you like to use one of the other children's swim clothes?" The talented ymbryne asked, and Frisk nodded.

"Though you may be neutral to gender, unfortunately, all of the boys' clothing are far too large for you. Would you be alright with using some of Claire's swim clothes?" Frisk thought hard for a moment, and then nodded.

"Now be careful and safe, Frisk." Miss Peregrine said, and Frisk gave a thumbs up. They then took the swimclothes, stepped out of the door and then bolted towards the older children.

"Wait for me!" They cried as they skittered after the actually-very-old teenage children. They eventually ended up beside Fiona, who no longer had unbelievably wild hair.

"So where's the beach?" Frisk asked, as the others chatted about menial things.

"Just through town, really." The well-dressed young man smiled.

"I've never been to your town before." They replied.

"It's not _really_ our town though," Emma shot back, "The boys usually only come here to play a stupid game called Raid the Village."

"Raid the Village?" Frisk inquired, "That doesn't sound very nice."

"It's not, that's why it's stupid." The pyrokinetic girl responded.

"We aren't going to do that today, are we?" The small child asked, and Emma shook her head.

"I sure hope not." They all kept walking along until they reached a town that looked very historic. A man pulled a wagon, and some fishermen talked about 'you boats'. Strangely enough, Millard kept predicting things right before they happened.

"Are you psychic?" Frisk asked with wonder, and Horace let out a subtle snicker.

"No, he just spends most of _his_ time studying the town." It was too late, the damage was already done; the stocky little child's eyes were still starry.

"Wow!" They exclaimed, and Millard (presumably) smiled.

"It's nice to see someone appreciates my work." Jacob nodded and said he found it interesting, too.

"I don't see what's so great about it," Hugh commented, "He spends all of his time sneaking around and following people for 'the sake of information' but he can't get anymore interesting than 'That pig is about to oink three times'." Frisk's face reddened a little.

"I still think it's cool.." They kept looking around with the same sense of wonderment. Jacob kept on talking with Emma, Hugh was talking with Fiona, etc etc.

"I can see the appeal of wanting to study a town like this," said Chara, "Especially if you're invisible." Frisk smiled and nodded as the group began to run out of dock to walk on. It led to a large strip of rocks followed by a sandy beach.

"We're here!" Frisk exclaimed as they hopped onto the sand.

"Hey, you aren't going to swim in your new clothes, right?" Chara asked, and Frisk's face reddened again.

"Right." They were quick to follow the other girls, quickly throwing on the swimsuit. It worked, and certainly better than one of the boys or older girls' swimsuits. In fact, the boys were only in their underwear. They froze for a moment, one foot sticking out from behind the crevice-esque rocks.

"Frisk, are you okay?" one of the others asked, to which they meekly responded,

"Uhm, yeah." Though it sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Come on, the water isn't THAT cold!" Another called, and Frisk stepped out. A few moments passed, and suddenly they had dashed forward, kicking up water in glee.

"Okay!" And for hours on end, all the children ran around. When it got cold, they sprinted out of the water. When they began to heat up again, it was back in the water. It continued like this as the Sun slowly lowered, all the while Jacob answered questions about his life and things Frisk themselves didn't know yet. He told the others about phones, and planes, history and scientific discoveries. Even Frisk joined in with asking questions. Eventually, the Sun began to duck towards the horizon, and all decided to go home.

"Jacob, aren't you gonna stay with us and Miss Peregrine?" Frisk asked, as they headed towards the house. They were being carried by Bronwyn because their blinding clumps of wet brown hair nearly caused them to walk right into a bog pit.

"I have to go back to my parents, Frisk." Emma made a pouty face.

"Yes, Jacob, why can't you stay just a little longer?" The two began to talk, an obvious connection seeming to unfold. Who knows, maybe that was just the apple and the kiss.

"Bye Jacob!" Frisk called, brushing their soggy hair aside as they turned to reenter Miss Peregrine's expansive house.

"Welcome back, children. I presume Mr. Portman had to go back." Miss Peregrine greeted them, sitting in a chair that was a combination of a loveseat, recliner, and a rocking chair. The other, younger children were engaging in the activity of drawing a beautiful garden for Fiona. And Horace nodded.

"Well, I believe it is right about time for dinner. Now then, you all should get washed up." The rest of the children nodded this time, and Frisk managed to sneak their way up to the bathroom first.

"You have a memory of your recent watery escapades. You are filled with Determination." The yellow star glimmered as Chara spoke. It formed a familiar sparklimh ribbon of yellow, and the green-wearing ghost spoke again.

"HP restored."


	9. Of Resets and RESETS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Chara witness something familiar.

"Chara?" The odd poltergeist froze in place.

"Oh, right. Game saved." They said, as there was a knocking on the door.

"Are you almost done? How long does it take to wash your hands and your face?" asked a voice, presumably Enoch.

"Just a little bit more, okay?" They asked, smooshing their cheek against the door so that the morbid boy could hear them better. They faced the sink area again, turning on the faucet and quickly washing up.

"Done!" They announced, opening the door for Enoch. As the ring-eyed boy walked in, Frisk started towards the stairs.

"Wait." They suddenly said, and Chara gave them a weird look.

"What?"

"Didn't we already have dinner?" Chara thought about this for a second and then nodded.

"Yeah, maybe we just misheard that lady." Frisk nodded as well.

"Mhm." They walked down the stairs and tugged on the sleeve of the first person they saw, who happened to be Bronwyn.

"Bronwyn, are we having dinner?" This time it was she who gave the weird look.

"Of course. Didn't you hear the Bird?" Frisk's face went beet red. So they were wrong after all. So they went to the dining room table and sat down.

About half an hour later, because the author doesn't want a dinner scene taking up most of the chapter...

"That was really good..." Frisk said as Chara floated around the various plates.

"I wish I was alive so I could eat with you." They lamented as everyone began to put away their plates. Chara, feeling a bit cheated, decided to stubbornly plant themselves on the table.

"Being a ghost isn't fair." But Frisk was already gently placing their plate(s) in the sink. As Chara sat, frowning, Frisk looked at them.

"Hug?" Chara kept frowning.

"Okey." The notably-now-overall-wearing child said and decided to follow Hugh, who was going outside. The long-deceased child suddenly started being dragged along by some invisible force, sliding off of the table and across the floor.

"This again?" They huffed, then decided that being grumpy was unfun. They speed-hovered to Frisk and noticed that all the others were gathered somewhere around some topiary sculpture of a man pointing to the sky.

"What's this?" They heard Frisk asking, and the mourner-looking old lady known as Miss Peregrine.

"Oh, right, I failed to find a time to explain changeovers to you. Every night at exactly this time, I reset the loop." At the word RESET, both of the Determined children froze.

"RESET?" Frisk shakily repeated.

"Don't worry, no harm will come to you. It is an ymbryne's duty to protect her wards, after all." The fact that she handed some weird, rubbery mask to them after that was not very comforting.

"A reset allows the loop to repeat the same day over and over. If it is not reset, then the loop will slip and utter chaos will ensue." Chara was pacing around in the air, very worried as well.

"She knows how to RESET but not how Determination works? Frisk, I think she's hiding something from us." Frisk shook their head.

"She said that an ymbryne protects her wards, right? I think she just wants us to stay safe." They muttered.

"How is sending us back to the garden of the evil flower keeping us safe?!" Chara replied as the rain poured through their transparent body.

"As much as I love the Underground, I don't want to watch you die over and over! I don't want to see my Da-Asgore die, either!" Both children were obviously distressed, but not any more than their fellow peculiars as they watched Frisk have a very animated debate with nothing. And Millard was standing next to Emma, so it couldn't be him. For the sake of correct timing, they had already started Run Rabbit Run, so that played over the rain and Frisk's cries of 'I don't want to go back any more than you do!'.

"Frisk, it's okay. You aren't going to get hurt by this, I promise. The mask is just a precaution." Miss Peregrine assured, which snapped Frisk out of their worried shouts.

"Huh?" They said, as the song winded on and the rain kept pouring.

"It's alright, Frisk. The loop resets before any harm can come to us or the house." Frisk smiled, doubtful but willing to trust Miss Peregrine for their own comfort.

The song was finally beginning to fade as loud roars of engines came from the skies, followed by a fleet of World War II-era planes.

"Miss Peregrine!" The child cried, clinging to her, "The planes are going to attack us!" They held the mask tightly between their hands as one of the planes released a metallic object. It eerily whistled as it descended, leaving Chara screeching,

"EVERYONE'S GOING TO DIE!" as Frisk cried for Miss Peregrine's help. Suddenly they realized what the object was, and they promptly squeezed their eyes shut preparing to be blown to bits. And afterward, of course, it was back to the flower patch. The deluge of rain paired with the song and the bomb's warning of imminent death created a very unsettling piece. The other children had notably gathered around the topiary statue and watched the metal explosive come ever closer to their home. Now it was about to make contact and explode violently. Frisk mustered up all their Determination in order to prepare for Flowey's cruel act and all that would follow as Chara held on to the smaller child.

Strangely, there was no explosion. No chorus of screams to join Frisk's and no smell of burning metal. Frisk opened their eyes to see everything frozen in place, even the raindrops. The bomb's tip was right at the tip of the topiary statue's outstretched finger.

"Huh?" Frisk asked, very confused and baffled. Why did the bomb stop? Did something bad happen and now they were stuck like this forever? They looked to the other children who were, in fact, moving around and talking.

"Maybe this is the RESET!" Chara suddenly exclaimed, "It makes so much sense!" Frisk was silent, which wasn't an unusual occurrence but it was still a little odd in this situation.

"Hey Frisk, are you listening, I'm tryingggg-" They trailed off as they found out why Frisk had gone quiet. The rain started moving backward, as did the bomb. They flowed upwards and away, the house untouched. Everything rewinded faster and faster, the night spinning into the evening, day, and then the early morning. And, most notably, they did not meet the Underground's floor again. And Frisk had one and only one thing to say after all this:

"Miss Peregrine, I'm confused..."


	10. In Which Frisk Nods a Lot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk does a lot of nodding, while the other children become curious of Frisk’s abilities.

Miss Peregrine looked at Frisk. Frisk looked back at Miss Peregrine.

"If it's any consolation, Jacob reacted the same way." Frisk blinked.

"But I don't get it...Resets are..." They trailed, and Miss Peregrine decided to do some explaining.

"I should have explained it more. Resets only repeat the day. You may think nearly being hit by a bomb is downright terrifying, but it was necessary to make the loop at that time." Frisk nodded, although they still didn't understand.

"Yeah, I guess..." They replied.

"Might I add that you need to wear the gas mask next time." Miss Peregrine commented as everyone trotted back to the house to get ready for bed. For the second time, Frisk nodded.

Hours later, they woke to a new, sunshiny morning. They got out of bed and the sun was shining, put on their overalls again and got ready while the sun shined, and walked downstairs after taking one more peek at the star. They and all the other children had a delicious breakfast of eggs and ham and more eggs, among other foods.

A mere half hour after breakfast was when Jacob came back to see all the children running and generally having a good time in the garden. Miss Peregrine, however, looked less pleased with him than the others. He slowly toddled inside, and then, after around 15 minutes, he came outside and went over to Emma. Frisk, still being a curious child, decided to ask Jacob what he had talked about.

"It was just about how the people here can't leave the loop for too long." Frisk gave a confused look.

"But you left for a whole day. And yesterday we went out to the beach." He nodded, and replied,

"We can stay outside of a loop as long as we want, but they can't." He motioned to Emma, and to the rest of the peculiar children.

"Why not?"

"Because we're all supposed to be old, but we're not because of the loop. If we go away from it too long, we'll get old very quick." That time it was Emma who responded, who seemed more than a little bit stung by the idea of growing old, away from the people who lived in her home. Frisk nodded as though they understood because they did.

"Oh... Well, I didn't know a lot about phones either, and I've never been on a plane." They offered because it was true. Jacob merely shrugged and said sure.

"Well, I just can't talk about it anymore. It doesn't really matter that much, though."

"Are you kidding? Next, to Alphys' hoodlallies, your pocket phone is the most advanced phone I've ever seen!" Chara exclaimed, but no-one heard them (except Frisk, of course).

"Hey, your phone is really cool. It's one of the coolest ones I've seen, ever." Frisk commented, and Jacob's hand shifted in his pocket.

"Now I see why Miss Peregrine told me to not tell you about the outside world. The only other person from modern times is still fainting over my phone." Chara frowned.

"Hey. We just complimented your phone, man. Not cool." Chara muttered, aimlessly floating around like a bubble-or Olive without her shoes. They phased through Jacob. He made a confused face, and then Emma made a confused face.

"What?"

"Nothing." Emma gave him a skeptical look this time.

"Really. Then why did you just shiver like that?"

"I don't know, I just got suddenly got cold." Emma offered her hand, which was still gloved.

"I can warm you up, if you'd like." Jacob shook his head.

"It was only for a couple seconds."

"I didn't feel anything," said Emma, and it was true. Chara rolled their eyes and sighed dramatically, flinging themselves right through Emma's torso. She shivered.

"Never mind, it must have just been a breeze." Chara was laying on the ground, one hand stretched out, halfway into the dirt.

"Yeah," said Frisk, as they picked up a leaf that had fallen off a tree. "See?"

"Hey Frisk," said Jacob, "What was your peculiarity before your second soul broke? You don't have to tell us if it brings too many bad memories."

"Determination." They responded because it was simply the truth. It was the one and only special thing that they ever had.

"No, before that."

"Determination." They repeated.

"Did you never have a peculiarity before that?" Jacob asked, and they merely shrugged.

"I don't think so." The teenage boy furrowed his brow.

"So, if your second soul is broken and that 'Determination' thing is the only peculiarity you've ever had... Does that mean your second soul was always broken?"

"It means that I have Determination."

"But what is Determination?" He was starting to get annoyed.

"Being determined." Jacob groaned.

"No, but what does it DO?"

"It helps me to be determined."

"Could you stop being so cryptic?"

"We're not even in a crypt, silly."

"That's not what it means."

"Than what does it mean?"

"It means you're being confusing." Frisk shook their head.

"No I'm not, I'm telling you what Determination is."

"You're just repeating the same thing over and over!" Jacob exclaimed, and Emma (who was very tired of the banter) pushed the two apart.

"You two are like dogs fighting over a bone." She shook her head.

"Now we're even on comparing each other to dogs?" Jacob asked.

"Yes, we're even now. Now stop bickering at each other." Frisk began to say something, but Chara held a hand up to their face.

"Sorry Frisk, but I'm on Jacob's side because you could've just told them what it actually does. And I know you're thinking, 'But Chara, wouldn't they think I'm crazier than Flowey trying to flirt with an Echo Flower?' and to that I, I have to remind you that the girl standing between us and Jacob can make fire appear in her palms and be unaffected by it." It was a long and wordy explanation, but Frisk understood. They scratched their head, looking up at a cloud.

"Okey." It was apparently an unsatisfying response for Jacob because he gave Frisk an odd look and told them,

"Okay, I guess?" They both shrugged, and Frisk wandered over to another group, which happened to be Millard, Hugh, and Horace playing football.

"Oh, hello Frisk," said Hugh, a bee floating out of his mouth, "Would you like to play football with us?" The newest and youngest of Miss Peregrine's wards nodded happily.

"You can be on my side, that way it's an even amount of players," Horace said, waving a hand.

"Okey!" They replied, dashing over to his side of the field.

"So anyway," Horace kicked the ball to Frisk, "How did that yellow glow work? Can you do that at any time?" They shook their head as they kicked it back to him.

"I think it only works when my life is in danger." Horace nodded, swerving around Hugh.

"That makes sense, considering that the Hollowgast was about to eat you." Frisk stumbled, almost falling knee-first into the ground.

"Eat me?!"

"Didn't Miss Peregrine already tell you about Hollowgast?" Frisk nodded.

"She said that, but I thought it was just angry." Horace, not looking where he was going, bumped into Millard. They both fell down, allowing Hugh to snatch the ball and start running towards Frisk and Millard's unguarded goal.

"You were running around while actually HOLDING your soul! There's no doubt any Hollowgast would chase you for days, just for a shard of that red heart!" This made Frisk frown and stick their tongue out, even as they stood up and brushed the dust off their overalls.

"What would it even want with my soul, anyway? It's like glass, and who would want to eat glass?"

"That doesn't matter to a thing like a Hollow. As long as it's something that will make it less hungry and also bring it closer to being a wight, it'll eat it."

"And that even applies to motorcars, if you're wondering." He added, chasing after Hugh and the ball.

"That sounds very, utterly horrifying." This phrase surprised Horace a little, as most of Frisk's other phrases had been very short and casual.

"I've never heard you speak so formally before," Horace commented, to which the coverall-wearing child replied,

"Sometimes I just don't like talking." Chara, who was previously filling in as the unseen referee, cheekily said,

"Sometimes they don't even like to show emotion other than this," and then they made a straight line with their mouth, staring emotionless at their sleeves.

Frisk turned and gave them a look, proving that they surely did have emotions.

"Sorry, just trying to make a point." Chara sheepishly defended, as Hugh began to close in towards the goal area. He kicked it, sending it right into Chara's torso. The ball seemed to hover to all except Frisk, who could clearly see that the child was holding it with their pale, incorporeal hands. Both teams were outraged for various reasons.

"Millard, stop cheating, that's against the rules!" cried Horace.

"Hey, that was my goal shot! We could've scored a point!" lamented Hugh.

"I didn't do anything! I'm right here!" Millard exclaimed, gesturing to himself. He was still fully clothed, which only caused more of a ruckus.

"Then who stopped the ball?!" said Hugh and Horace.

"I don't know!" exclaimed Millard, and Chara dropped the ball. No-one had heard their call of how it was against the rules to kick a ball directly at a referee, ghost or not.

"That was certainly strange," said Millard, as he curiously tapped the ball with his shoe.

"Maybe it was the wind?" Frisk offered, not wanting to make everyone angry at the spirit referee.

"Then there's been some strange wind lately," said Hugh. Frisk, gaining a smile, started to run off with the ball, quickly running in the direction of Millard and Hugh's goal.

"Frisk! We weren't ready yet, we were still talking about strange wind patterns!" Millard exclaimed as he began to chase the child down.

"You never said 'timeout'!" They responded with a laugh, as they kept running. Soon Hugh joined the chase, and they were both approaching Frisk at an alarming rate. Horace was running as well, trying to get to a spot where Frisk could pass the ball to him. Frisk suddenly stopped, out of breath and doubled over.

"We've got you now, that ball is ours!" Hugh and Millard proclaimed at the same time, diving for the ball (at the same time). They both crashed into the ball.

"FOUL!" Chara yelled, and so did Horace.

"You know..." Hugh said, between heavy breaths, "...Maybe we should take a break from football..." Millard nodded, and Frisk nodded as well. They were very tired from all the running and sat down on the grass.

"Maybe we should lay down and look at the clouds..." The child said, pointing to the fluffy clumps of precipitation.

"No, that sounds boring," said Hugh, a few bees orbiting around his head, "I'm going to go over to Fi."

"Fi?" said Frisk, a bit confused by the strange nickname.

"Fiona, of course." The bee boy explained, to which Frisk smiled in an embarrassed way.

"Oh. Seems neat." They stayed sitting, looking up at the clouds slowly moving across the sky. Millard and Horace returned to their game of football, and Chara decided to retire from being a referee.

"You know, Frisk," said Chara, who was now sitting as well, "Even though our mountain adventure is basically over, I like this place. Though I kind of miss the danger and the conflict and of course, the running." Frisk nodded because they enjoyed their time Underground as well.

"Maybe it'll happen later. Who knows?" And so, the two children talked and stared at clouds, hoping for further adventure.


	11. I Wish They Would Explain Themselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Chara get what they wished for (somewhat).

After sitting around and watching the clouds roll, Frisk finally stood up. They smiled and kept looking at the clouds, but then paused.

"Chara?" They asked, and the ghost stood up as well.

"Yeah? Did you forget something?" They shook their head.

"No, but... Do you think we just jinxed ourselves?" Chara began to laugh.

"Really? That's what you were so worried about?! Of course we didn't jinx ourselves! For all we know, 'more adventure' could just mean a hike or a long walk through the forest. It doesn't have to mean someone being out to kill us." Frisk smiled, but they weren't so sure. If there was nothing to worry about, then what was the ominous feeling that had washed over them?

"Come on, Frisk, we didn't even wish on a cave star or anything. Nothing's going to happen. We're not all going to suddenly die." Chara remained adamant as they sat down again, half a leg falling through the soil.

"I don't know, Chara, I'm kind of freaked out."

"You freak out about a lot of things, Frisky Bits."

"Yeah, but I'm not making stuff up, okay?

The other children began to take notice of Frisk's animated conversation.

"What's Frisk doing?" asked Emma, occasionally looking back to see the child waving their arms and proving that they were not paranoid.

"Maybe they have an imaginary friend?" Jacob offered, and Emma rubbed her chin confusedly.

"It could be. They still seem to be..." She watched as Frisk claimed that they were not being ridiculous, "Maybe, just a little bit..."

"You were going to say crazy, weren't you?" Jacob asked, and Emma shook her head.

"Of course not, I'm just not used to seeing someone arguing so intently with the air."

"It's an imaginary friend, and Frisk thinks it's real. I used to think you were just a made up story, remember?" said Jacob, and Emma briefly laughed.

"Right."

"How about we talk about something else?" They both heard Frisk ask.

* * *

"We're both silly, I guess." They seemed pleased with this solution and smiled.

"I guess so," Chara replied, bringing their incorporeal feet to the ground adding, "Do you want to play tag or something?"

"No, it won't be fair." replied the younger child. Chara raised a dark-colored eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"You're a ghost," Frisk replied.

"So?" In response, Frisk stuck a hand through Chara's torso.

"I can't touch you." Chara nodded.

"Good point. Do you want to do some stuff with the other people here?" They offered, and Frisk nodded.

"Race you there!" Chara narrowed their eyes, a grin taking over their face.

"You're on, Frolic." Frisk started off, but it wasn't a very good start. Chara ran too, though their shoes constantly fell right through the ground. The ghostly child's lead grew larger, making it harder for Frisk to catch up.

"You can't catch me!" The sweater-wearing ghoul called, "I'm uncatchable!"

Frisk had stopped moving for some reason. Chara noticed this and looked back at them.

"Giving up already?" They teased. They noticed that Frisk was already standing near the other children. And the self-proclaimed narrator was still running and went straight through a tree, leaves staying non-rustled and undisturbed as the ghostly child grumbled.

"I still won!" They called, as the last of their right shoe phased through the the tree's trunk.

"Over here!" They waved to the ghost as the other children looked at them.

"What?" They said to the group, "They ran too far and almost crashed into a tree."

"Well, okay. Anyway, do you want to play? I still think we have some time left to play." said Olive, who was a bit to the left of Millard.

"Okay!" Frisk said cheerfully, as Chara finally got off of the ground again.

"Frisk, can we do something with less people? I enjoy being around you, but this is really pushing it." The younger child gave them a slight frown and pointed to the other children around them.

"They're fun, too." Chara rolled their eyes in response to this.

"Fine, but I'm not going to do any more games with them today. I need a break." They promptly disappeared from view, even to Frisk, and the wavy-haired child looked at the group of odd people around them.

"We were going to play, right?" They asked Olive, and the tiara-wearing girl nodded several times and said,

"Yes, come on, let's go! I know the perfect game to play!" Both of them ran off to play a game that had something to do with jumping around in squares.

Once Olive and Frisk were both tired from playing their game, Frisk sat down on the grass.

"Why are you sitting down in the grass like that?" Olive asked, a bit curiously.

"It feels nice." Olive nodded, and then said,

"I can sit down with you." Frisk smiled, showing that they were missing one of their teeth. Nobody had noticed it before because they hadn't looked closely enough.

"When did you lose your tooth, Frisk?" She asked, even more curiously.

"I was running away from a warrior fish. She was taller than you and me together, and had a pointy blue spear!" They went on to describe how the fish warrior (who was Undyne, but Frisk did not tell Olive that) chased them all over a dark and maze-like bridge.

"And then, after I was done running away, she suddenly appeared! And she cut the bridge between her and me in half, making me fall down with it! And that's how I lost this tooth." Olive seemed amazed by this story, leaning towards Frisk with wide eyes.

"Did you really do that, Frisk?" The overall-sporting child nodded, and it was true. They did do it, after all.

"That sounds really brave! I don't think I could do that."

"I think you could." Frisk responded, "I bet you would be even more brave than me!"

"Really? You do?"

"I do! You could probably just float away from her."

"But if I float away, I would get stuck on the ceiling!"

"Yeah..." They both started to talk about different ways that could be done to get away from the spear-wielding fish lady.

"You could take off one shoe," Frisk said, but then Olive shook her head.

"I would still float." The overall-wearing child scratched their chin, and then said,

"What if you... had someone holding you with a rope?"

"Who would be there to hold me with a rope?" questioned the tiara-wearing child.

"Bronwyn," said Frisk.

"Why would Bronwyn be there?" Olive questioned.

"Because you would all be there," Frisk replied.

"But why would we be down there? Wouldn't Bronwyn pull us all up, or catch us before we fell?" Frisk nodded and said,

"Yeah, that's a pretty silly idea. I think that Miss Peregrine would make sure that no-one falls."

"So then the fish-warrior-lady wouldn't chase us, and instead we could have a nice picnic," replied Olive.

"That's a good idea."

"Miss Elephanta! Frisk! Come inside, please!" A voice called, and it belonged to Miss Peregrine. Frisk got up after Olive did, and they both quickly went inside.

* * *

Both Hugh and Millard were sitting next to each other inside when an idea dawned in Millard's head.

"Hugh, I was thinking," Millard, to which the bee-boy replied,

"So? You do that often."

"Yes, but this time it's about Frisk."

"What about them?"

"I think I figured out what their peculiarity is." Hugh gave him a curious look.

"You did?"

"Yes, I did. I think Frisk has telekinesis."

"What makes you say that?" asked Hugh, to which Millard responded,

"Well, all those times that things started to float or move on their own, Frisk was there. The phonograph started playing by itself after Frisk woke up, our ball was suspended in the air while Frisk joined our game, and both of their souls float." Hugh gave him a look and then said,

"Their second soul is broken, Mil. How could they still have a working peculiarity if it's broken?"

"If their soul is broken like you say it is, how could they enter a loop? Don't they need both souls to do that?"

"It's still there, it's just broken. And wouldn't've Frisk already told us that if it was true? And don't say they would feel unusual because they've already seen all ours." Hugh explained.

"Claire was shy about showing Jacob her peculiarity."

"Maybe they have a very sad, horrible past, and they don't want to talk about it." Hugh shot back, and Millard stood up.

"I'm going to settle this once and for all by asking Frisk."

"Don't be surprised if they say no to you!" called Hugh, as Millard went on his way.

Frisk, meanwhile, was drawing a picture of them baking a pie with Toriel. They may have been 'cryptic' about Determination, but they still loved their friends under the mountain and did not hesitate to show it.

"Hello Frisk," said a voice, and the child looked up to see a floating set of clothing holding a notepad.

"Hi Millard!" they cheerfully said back, "I'm drawing a picture, do you want to see it?" They turned their paper towards him.

"Is that you?" He asked, looking down at it, and Frisk nodded.

"Anyways, I was wondering... What's your peculiarity?" Frisk looked up at him.

"Oh boy, here we go again," said the voice of a certain supernatural occurrence.

"Are you going to be really vague again? Because if you're going to be super vague again, I'm leaving." It was an odd thing to say, considering the spectral pre-preteen could not wander too far or they would start being pulled back towards Frisk. Speaking of Frisk, their mahogany-ish-brownish eyes went to the ghost for a moment, then back to Millard and his notepad.

"Determination." Chara groaned and their mouth formed a wide, large frown.

"Okay," said Millard, writing that down, "What does it do? Is it passive like my peculiarity, or can you do it at any time if you focus?"

"Both," replied Frisk, because it was technically true.

"Both? Okay... So, what does it do?" Millard asked.

"It makes me Determined," replied Frisk. Millard wrote down 'determination' for the second time.

"So, by definition of the word, you're unusually good at being perseverant?" Frisk shook their head.

"No, that's different. That's Perseverance. I have Determination."

"So if it isn't the quality of persevering, then what is it?"

"Now's your chance! Tell him the truth!" said Chara.

"The truth?" Frisk replied, temporarily forgetting about Millard.

"Yes, I want the truth," said Millard.

"Well, it has a lot to do with my heart."

"What about your heart? Frisk, are you listening? Frisk?" But Millard would get no further answer, for Frisk had put their full focus on their drawing. Millard sighed, looked at his notepad, and walked away.

"Frisk! What the heck was that? I told you to tell the truth!" said Chara, very annoyed with these antics.

"But I did." They muttered as they started coloring Toriel's dress.

"That doesn't count! You were confusing again!" the older child protested, and then added,

"One of these days you have to tell them the truth, Frisk."

"I know." Frisk continued to color the dress in.

"Sometime soon, Frisk."

"Yeah." At this point, Chara raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"You're a purple tortoise with green spots, Frisk."

"Yup." Chara narrowed their red eyes.

"Frisk! You're not even listening! I just said 'You're a purple tortoise with green spots, Frisk,' and you said, 'Yup'. Yup!"

"Sorry, I'm busy drawing right now."

"Fine." They sighed, "I won't pester you about it anymore. For now." And so, Frisk continued to color in Toriel's dress. They finished the drawing and put it in their backpack (which had finally been returned), ate supper with the others, and was now close to falling asleep in the covers of a bed in a room they shared with Claire. And unbeknownst to the sleepy child, their wish for adventure and conflict was about to come true.


	12. An Avocet Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conflict finally happens.

* * *

Frisk, who had finally settled down to bed, had no idea what was going on. It was the dead, insomniac Chara who had heard feet shuffling around from below.

"Hey, Frisk. I heard something downstairs," said Chara. Frisk mumbled and tiredly moved their hand in a shooing motion.

"Come onnn." Frisk slowly opened one eye, and looked at Chara sleepily.

"Not now...tired..." The ghost crossed their arms and said,

"What if everyone's dying, Frisk? What if there's a fire, and everything's going to burn down?"

"Bed.." replied Frisk. Chara thought for a moment, and suddenly said,

"Hey, what if one of those friends of yours are hurt? You'd want to help them, right?" Frisk opened their eyes a little.

"Don't you want to go and see? I'm sure nothing that bad will come from it."

"If nothing is happening, you can't bug me again," muttered Frisk, quietly shifting out of the bed. They slowly creeped across the floor as to not disturb Claire, and soon they were at the door. Looking back at the other child in the room once again, they creaked it open carefully. Finally, the door was open wide enough for them to go through, and they began to leave the room.

"Frisk?" asked Claire groggily.

"So much for being quiet," complained Chara, arms crossed and back slumping. Frisk looked back at Claire, surprised.

"Um...Uh...I was just, you know..." They were unable to construct a proper answer and just kept blabbering nervously.

"Aren't we supposed to be in bed?" This caught Frisk (who was halfway through the doorway) off guard even more.

"Yeah, but...There's this thing...And, you know...I, you know...uhmm..." Chara had both of their hands on their face in frustration.

"You are just too much sometimes."

"I'm just gonna...go?" said Frisk, taking another step. And another."You can come with if you want.." They were heading towards the stairs, where the sounds of hurried footsteps could be heard even clearer. Claire agreed and they both curiously went down the stairs. At this point, they could hear the voices of some of the older children, and, more importantly, Miss Peregrine.

"What do you think is going on?" asked Claire, to which Frisk merely shrugged. They both went forward and towards the living room, and Frisk barely looked around the doorframe.

"Frisk, what do you think you are doing up this late?" said Miss Peregrine, turning to look at the pajama-clad child.

"I heard a lot of footsteps and..."

"And?"

"And I was worried someone was in trouble..." Miss Peregrine narrowed her eyes, and then said,

"I may not like that you are awake so late, but you are right." Next to her was an unfamiliar lady rocking in one of the chairs.

"Frisk, go up and wake the other children. Miss Densmore, come here and help me with Miss Avocet." Frisk looked back at Claire, who had apparently stepped out from behind the doorframe while they weren't looking.

"Got it, Miss Peregrine," said Frisk, already heading towards the stairs.

"I really want to to know who this 'Miss Avocet' person is. It's not that they seem suspicious, I just-feel something bigger around them. Like some sort of ominous cloud has been forming far away, and now someone has come to tell us that it exists." This came from Chara, who was pacing back and forth a few inches above the steps.

"Are you sure?" Frisk asked, looking at them.

"It might not even be true, but...We'll have to wait and see, won't we?" Frisk continued up the stairs, and went to everyone's door, one by one, telling them what Miss Peregrine had told them and what they knew.

Finally, the children had gathered in the sitting room, where Miss Peregrine was still trying to help the newcomer that was Miss Avocet. Miss Peregrine looked at the collection of children and began to give more tasks.

"And Frisk." They looked at the headmistress, waiting for a task.

"I appreciate your concern, but do not do that again. Do you understand?" Frisk nodded and apologized.

"Good. Now, Miss Bloom, I need you to fetch another warm cloth."

Frisk decided to go to the hall, where the rest of the children were. They began to say something, when Millard suddenly cut them off.

"That's Miss Avocet. She's another ymbryne. She was injured, and that's all I know so far." Frisk was very surprised. The invisible boy had just answered their question!

"How did you-" They began, but Millard cut them off again,

"I could see the look of worry and curiosity on your face, Frisk. And besides, it's the question we're all wondering right now." And it was true, because most of the other of the children nodded (except for Enoch, who was being his usual grumpy self).

"Where's Jacob?" asked Claire, looking around as if she would find him in a corner or behind a chair.

"He's probably left forever by now. Wouldn't blame him, because he's nothing like us."

"Don't say that! Maybe he's looking around the island." Frisk said, hurt that Enoch would say such a thing.

"Yeh, looking for the best place to leave from."

"That's not true."

"And why not? How would you know?"

"I trust him."

"Not everybody's a saint, you know. He could already be well on his way back to America, already starting to forget us."

"He wouldn't do that!"

"How would you know that? You don't even really know any of us." Frisk looked surprised at this remark.

"Not everyone in the world is as mean as you think."

"Yeah, well maybe you're just talking nonsense." Chara was getting very annoyed with Enoch. Sure, they both equally disliked people, but Frisk was a different story. They tried to see things in the best light, and always hoped for the best. And no matter how hard the raccoon-eyed boy argued, that wasn't going to change.

"If everyone in the world was mean, then why would we be helping that lady?"

"You're as stubborn as a mule, you know that?" Enoch said, turning and scooting away with a huff. Frisk looked at him for a few more seconds before turning towards the other children again.

"Are you sure these people are actually your friends, Frisk? Because that kid doesn't seem to like you. I'm just saying." They ended with a ghostly shrug.

"Is Enoch usually like that? I was just trying to give you guys hope," said Frisk, propping their head up with one arm.

"Oh, he's just jealous. He always acts like that," replied Millard.

"He does like you, he just doesn't want to say it," Claire added, and Frisk sighed,

"I just don't like how he talks so mean about Jacob. It's not nice to say things like that."

"I know, but that is just the way Enoch works." Millard said.

"Well, I still think he's wrong about Jacob," replied Frisk, shaking their head.

"He wouldn't just leave forever, right?"

"We can't be sure, but we can hope," Millard said, watching as the other children helped their headmistress tend to Miss Avocet.

"What do you think even happened?" asked Horace.

"Perhaps they forgot to reset their loop," said Claire. Enoch gave a quiet snicker.

"Bet you it was hollows," Enoch said, a grin creeping across his face, "Bet they ate the lot of 'em, too! Right down to their boots!" Frisk and Olive shrieked, Claire clapped her hands over her eyes, and Chara just frowned.

Knock knock knock! Three knocks came from the front door.

Jacob opened the door, hoping he wouldn't be scolded by Miss Peregrine for coming in so abruptly. At the same time, Horace was kneeling down and comforting all three. He said something about 'linger berries' and they all shrieked this time, even Claire.

"Stop that! Leave them alone!" Hugh shouting, sending a squadron of bees after Horace.

"What's going on down there? And is that you, Mr. Portman?" called Miss Peregrine, and Jacob smiled nervously.

"Yes, Miss Peregrine, it's me," said Jacob, slowly walking over to the sitting room door, opening it. Chara put their head through the door, relaying what they heard to Frisk.

"What are you doing here so late?"

"Oh, I felt that something really bad had happened, so I wanted to make sure all of you were safe."

"But at this hour?"

"If it will make you feel any better, I was extra careful." There was a pause for a moment, and Chara turned their head to Frisk.

"Okay, now she's going to scold that guy, so don't be startled if I start yelling." Frisk gave them a strange look and shrugged.

"Right, I'm going to go back to listening," the ghost said, and they did. They imitated the ymbryne to the best of their ability, but stopped taking it seriously very quickly and broke into fits of laughter every other sentence.

"Did you hear that Frisk?! She said-she just!" Chara erupted into another burst of laughter, twisting in the air.

"Now she's talking to Jacob again!" said Chara, fully invested in their eavesdropping. They leaned in again, their head disappearing through the door, giving the impression that Chara was headless.

"Uh, and some guy named Abe lived here, and he's also related to Jacob? I think that's what she said, at least." They paused for a moment, then continued.

"Yeah. So then this Abe person, he wanted to be normal so he left. Which is stupid, because if I had to choose between staying in a mansion where I can live forever and being 'normal', I'd stay here because-" They looked back at Frisk, who was no longer paying attention.

"Frisk! Aren't you going to listen to me?" But then their ears caught a noise, and they perked up.

"Frisk! It's the old lady! She's waking up!" Chara pointed to the door, one hand sticking right through it.

"I've got this," they said, pushing their whole torso through the door, listening eagerly.

"She's talking! We're finally going to know what happened!" After this, they fell silent as they listened.

"I've come to warn you," said Miss Avocet, leaning forward in the chair, "You must be on your guard. You musn't allow yourselves to be taken by surprise, as I was." Then, a haunted look came across her face, as if she'd just seen many frightening things.

"Oh," said Chara, mouth hanging open in surprise. The old lady began to talk again, speaking about how the soul-stealing wights had snuck into her loop late at night.

"A pair of them," she had said, going on to describe how she and one other ymbryne had tried to save their children, but couldn't. Chara, of course, was soaking up every word. It was like a big, mysterious adventure, unfolding before them. Was this the dangerous adventure that Frisk had wished for?

The old lady talked about how the other ymbryne had been kidnapped by the wights. Unable to contain themselves any longer, the green-sweatered ghost spun themselves around to face Frisk.

"The old lady! She-" But before they could finish their sentence, Frisk did it for them.

"She just had her loop stolen."

"Wait, you heard?" And then Frisk nodded, and it became evident that all of the other children had heard. Or, they had heard enough to be concerned.

"Poor Miss Avocet," said Claire, whimpering.

"Poor Miss Avocet's children," added Olive.

"Miss Peregrine, are they going to come for us, too?" asked Horace, concerned.

"We'll need weapons!" Millard cried.

"Battle-axes!" Enoch agreed.

"Swords!" said Chara, shaking their transparent fist.

"Bombs!" yelled Hugh.

"Stop this at once!" Miss Peregrine said, raising her hands up.

"We must all remain calm. Yes, what happened to Miss Avocet was tragic, indeed, but it is a tragedy that need not be repeated here. However-" As she said this, Chara crossed their arms and sighed dramatically, and said,

"Of course there's a however. There's always a however."

"-Henceforth, you will only travel beyond the house with my consent, and only in pairs. If you observe a person unknown to you, even if they appear to be peculiar, inform me immediately." And, after that, she ordered them all to bed.

"Frisk, I think you were right. We're finally getting a new adventure, a new journey!" They floated around more slowly now, but their voice showed they were still excited.

"Chara, people died. It's not funny," Frisk whispered, and Chara crossed their arms in feigned offense.

"I didn't say it was funny, I said it was an adventure!"

"Chara..."

"Fine, fine. It's a mystery."

"That's not what I meant."'

"Fine, I'll take it seriously. It's a serious adventure." Frisk frowned.

"I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight, Frisky-Bits."

"Uh-huh."

And Frisk went to sleep, one day behind them, and another one waiting in the distance.


End file.
